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Sunday, March 9, 2025 | 9:30 PM
Christopher Horner | TribLive
North Allegheny’s Gianni Lochiatto celebrates after scoring against Seneca Valley during their Penguins Cup Class 3A semifinal on Monday, March 11, 2024, at RMU.
While the PIAA basketball playoffs take time off between the first and second rounds, the puck drops on the first of four nights of high school hockey Final Four action Monday.
Class 3A hockey all season has been competitive and up for grabs during the entire regular season, so there should be no surprise that the 3A quarterfinals did not go as planned.
Yes, No. 1 Seneca Valley and No. 3 North Allegheny moved on, but No. 2 Mt. Lebanon and No. 4 Thomas Jefferson were bounced in the Class 3A postseason openers.
Expect the unexpected in the 3A semifinals Monday at Robert Morris’ Island Sports Center on Neville Island with both games seen on Trib HSSN.
In the semifinal opener, No. 1 Seneca Valley (14-5-2-0) will take on No. 5 Upper St. Clair (10-9-1-1) at 7:15 p.m.
In their playoff opener, Seneca Valley eliminated Pine-Richland, 3-1.
Cooper Hoehn, Jimmy Murtha and Owen Martin all scored for the Raiders, and goaltender Christopher Nichols stopped 24 of 25 shots.
In the quarterfinals, Upper St. Clair edged Thomas Jefferson, 5-4.
Eli Rankin and Ryan Buonomo each scored two goals for the Panthers, and Dylan Yealy tallied what would be the game-winning goal in the third period.
Seneca Valley defeated Upper St. Clair twice in the regular season by one goal, winning in early October, 4-3, and again in the early January rematch, 2-1.
The nightcap of the 3A semifinal doubleheader pits No. 3 North Allegheny (10-8-3-0) against No. 7 South Fayette (8-9-3-1) at 9:15 p.m.
Last Monday, South Fayette stunned a Mt. Lebanon team that was in first place for a majority of the regular season, 6-1.
Nathaniel Keller scored twice and Robert Chiappetta added three assists for the Lions, while SF netminder Jackson Ankrum made 29 saves on 30 shots on goal.
A day later, North Allegheny blanked Central Catholic in the final 3A quarterfinal, 1-0.
Gianni Lochiatto scored the game’s only goal for the Tigers in the second period while NA goalie Cam Junker stopped all 20 shots he faced for the shutout.
The Tigers swept the season series against the Lions, winning in late September, 4-0, and then winning a much closer game in late January, 3-2.
Tags: North Allegheny, Seneca Valley, South Fayette, Upper St. Clair
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